A group of teachers in the Russellville School District has achieved an honor shared by only a few teachers nationwide - National Board Certification.

The district currently has 12 teachers who have achieved the honor. The first, Alene Bynum, was certified in 1999, and three others followed soon after. In 2004, eight teachers in the district were certified, more than any other school district in Arkansas last year.

Nationwide, there are more than 40,000 teachers who are certified. In Arkansas, 239 teachers have achieved the honor, less than one-half of 1 percent of those nationwide.

"National Board Certification is a professional undertaking that requires teachers [to] possess a repertoire of instructional strategies to help all students meet high standards," Bynum said.

Bynum gave a presentation to the school board recently and recognized the 12 teachers who have achieved their certification.

According to a press release from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, National Board Certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession.

"A voluntary process established by NBPTS, certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do," the release states.

Bynum said the process is a professional development tool used by the district to promote standards-based classrooms and teaching.

"Teachers improve their teaching skills through the process, and students reap the benefits," Bynum said.

Bynum, who now serves as acting principal at the junior high, was the first teacher in the district to become certified. She has been an advocate for the process ever since.

"She's been the leader," high school principal Wesley White said.

Bynum taught social studies at the high school before becoming an administrator, and she achieved her certification while working under White.

Bynum said the district currently has 30 teachers who are engaged in the National Board process, which can take up to three years to complete. Besides the 12 who are already certified, eight teachers began the process this year, she said, while 10 others are in the second or third year of completing the process.

"For the past two decades, the growing challenges facing public education have caused us to consider new ideas, strategies and programs to enhance teaching and learning in schools," Bynum said. "Educators have worked to strengthen their knowledge and skills as part of this national effort to make higher levels of achievement possible for all students."

National Board Certification is a process administered through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The mission of the NBPTS, Bynum said, is to advance the quality of teaching and learning by maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.

"The National Board certification process examines how a teacher plans for teaching, actually teaches, and analyzes student work and how the teacher engages in reflection to meet the needs of students," Bynum said. "[It] automatically ensures that a teacher is a highly qualified teacher under No Child Left Behind."

To go through the process, teachers must have at least a bachelor's degree, have three years of teaching experience, have a valid teaching certificate and presently teach at least four classes. A $2,300 fee accompanies the process, and teachers who are not approved for state funding must pay the fee themselves, Bynum said.

The 12 teachers who have achieved certification, with years of teaching experience in parenthesis) are:

Jennifer Akers (11), Russellville High School;

Cindy Broadhead (12), Russellville Junior High School;

Sue Busch (15), Russellville Junior High School;

Alene Bynum (13), acting principal, Russellville Junior High School;

Beth Cooper (12), Russellville High School;

Kimberly Hubbard (15), Russellville High School;

Nancy Madison (6), Crawford Elementary;

Kimberly Moore (9), Russellville Junior High School;

Liz Mullins (21), Oakland Heights Elementary;

Paula Reeder (6), Oakland Heights Elementary;

Sheri Shirley (16), principal, Oakland Heights Elementary;

Amy Wills (11), Russellville High School.

Shirley, who has served as principal at Oakland Heights for the past three years, was a teacher for 13 years before becoming an administrator. She achieved her certification while she was teaching at Crawford Elementary.

"These teachers are working very hard to improve teaching and learning in our district," Bynum said. "[These women] are involved in every aspect of school improvement."

White told the board he was a "very proud principal."

"It means a lot because our people are exhibiting the best practices in their profession," he added. "They can truly hold their own with any other teacher in the nation."